· October, 2014

Stories from Quick Reads from October, 2014

An Indian Photoblogger's Lone Fight Against Plagiarism

  16 October 2014

Indian photoblogger Anirban Saha points to a growing problem in India — plagiarism of intellectual property online. A number of his photos were used in a poster for a theatre festival, on a cover of a book, in an advertisement by the state government, in political banners, in magazines in...

Animated Video Dispels Ebola Myths

  14 October 2014

Ebola: A Poem for the Living (English) from United Methodist Communications on Vimeo. United Methodist Communications, Chocolate Moose Media and iheed have collaborated to produce an animated video for use in West Africa that helps dispel myths about how Ebola is spread and promotes prevention of the disease. United Methodist...

Hometown Through the Eyes of Its Children

  12 October 2014

Chapacoco, a Peruvian village located at an altitude of 3,000 meters, part of the district of Chilcaymarca in the Arequipean province of Castilla, has been in the news thanks to its children. On October 10, 2014, the book “Chapacoco as seen from the children” was launched. The book has been...

Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution in Mathematical Formula

  12 October 2014

The above high school test paper has gone viral in Hong Kong social media in the past few days. The test question is: What are the factors that lead to the September 28 Umbrella Revolution? The student answered with a mathematical formula: 64+71+101+689+3=928. The teacher marked the paper 0 and...

Weapon of Mass Destruction in Hong Kong's Umbrella Revolution

  11 October 2014

Mainland Chinese state-run media has been running editorials and opinion pieces to criticize the Umbrella Revolution in Hong Kong, with emphasis on the destruction the street occupations have brought to ordinary people. The Umbrella Revolution has also been labeled as “Color Revolution” backed up by foreign forces, in particular, the...

Security Risks Exposed at Amusement Park in Dhaka

  9 October 2014

During the Eid holidays, Carnival Park at Jamuna Future park welcomed a large number of visitors. On October 7, 2014, one of its attractions, the 360-degree shuffle ride, stopped in the middle of a ride. Everyone on-board was stuck in their seats for about an hour. The ride had no emergency...

Ebola Strips Africans of Their Cultural and Human Values

  9 October 2014

A social anthropologist and sociologist Ginny Moony explains how Ebola outbreak strips off Africans of their humanity:  The way West-Africans care for their sick and deceased, supposedly differs significantly from that of the rest of the world. This is far from true. All over the world, the essence of care...

Still No Arrests in Case of Murdered Trinidad Attorney

  9 October 2014

After one national newspaper published the contents of murdered Trinidadian attorney Dana Seetahal‘s will, public relations expert and blogger Denise Demming is more concerned that five months later, no-one has been arrested: As the days pass and the likelihood of laying charges against the perpetrators of this crime recedes, I...

Marlon James Writes the Great Jamaican Novel – and the World is Raving About It

  8 October 2014

Jamaican author Marlon James’ new novel, A Brief History of Seven Killings, has been released to such fanfare that even hard-hitting literary critics cannot use enough superlatives in their reviews. Michiko Kakutani, Pulitzer Prize-winning critic for The New York Times, described James as a “prodigious talent”, calling the novel “epic...

Iranians protest in solidarity with Kobane

Iranians held several protest rallies in different cities including Tehran,Tabriz and Mehabad to support Kobane‘s people on Tuesday.Fighting continues to rage in the Syria-Turkey border town of Kobane Iran protest in solidarity with #Kobane Photos: @NasimMohammadi_ pic.twitter.com/QHu1k1szxB — Negar Mortazavi (@NegarMortazavi) October 7, 2014

The Struggling Free Press in Myanmar

  6 October 2014

This image, posted in the online magazine Shan Herald, describes the state of the press in Myanmar. Despite the abolition of the censorship board a few years ago, journalists still face a lot of challenges. This year, reporters have been detained for reporting and asking about some government-initiated projects.

Android App Digitises Motorcycle Deliveries in Kenya

  5 October 2014

Erik Hersmann shares his experience with a new Android app that is set to revolutionise motorcycle courier services in Kenya: This year at Pivot East I had my first look at Sendy, which does for motorcycle courier deliveries and customers in Nairobi, what Uber did for taxis and passengers in...

AQIM Losing Ground to Dāʻish in the Sahel Region

  4 October 2014

While the Islamist group Boko Haram threatens to  extend its caliphate in the north -east part of Nigeria, major developments are taking place in the Sahel with respect to the security of the region. Kaci Racelma, a Nigerien blogger wrote in his blog A Niamey ( In Niamey) about the relationship...

Paraguayans Share a Delicious Jopará to Shoo Poverty Away

  4 October 2014

Every year on October 1, Paraguayans prepare a traditional dish named jopará or yopará, stew type broth made out of different kinds of maize with beans and plenty bovine and pork meat, vegetables, sausages, amongo other ingredients. It's costumary that October is a feared month, the harvesting is over, the...

Misdiagnosis of Poor Standard of Education in Malawi

  3 October 2014

The language of instruction debate is attracting attention in Malawi after the government's decided that students would be taught in English from Standard One. Steve Sharra joins the debate arguing that the problem of education in Malawi has been misdiagnosed: There are good reasons why many Malawians are happy with...

African Animators Defying All Odds

  3 October 2014

Njeri Wangari highlights 9 amazing animation videos for African children: 1. Jungle Beat Jungle Beat is a fun, family friendly series of CGI animated self-contained, dialogue-free, 5 minute episodes focusing on different animals and the bizarre situations they encounter in nature. From the firefly who is afraid of the dark...